Moved to Franklin NC and need medical help...waste of time (health insurance, home)

[craig1970]

Here is our story. We recently moved to Franklin and were looking forward to making this home. My fiancé through no fault of her own has had 4 back surgeries. Due to this doctors have put her on narcotic pain meds to help her. She is trying to get established so we can work on getting her off as much of her meds as possible. We have been here 6 weeks and have called and talked to no less than a dozen or more doctors. All are either we are full or we can't help you. After her meds ran out she talked to her mothers doctors in waynesville and he recommended going to Urgent Care which closes at 5:30pm. Not sure how a place called Urgent can close at that time. None the less we went there and they said they could not help. So our last resource was the hospital. After 3 hours to get to see someone the doctor said that the normally could not help but he would see what he could do. With the luck of the draw he was able to get us a prescription. The doctor had said that if he could not get the prescription approved that he figured he would see us back in a few days. We took the prescription to a local drug store to get filled. We knew it would have to be ordered. Before we picked up the prescription the pharmacist called the hospital and between the two my fiancé's 30 day medication was changed to 15 days. So now we are in big trouble and will probably have to drive many hours away to a place that has at least 1% of concern. Additionally we had a letter from her previous doctor backing up her condition and needs. No one here really cared in the least about my fiancé and her needs. We were hoping to make this home but we might as well have been shunned. My family owns property in the area and due to all of this we are considering selling. It saddens me how disrespectful the community is and how unhelpful they have been. We have not asked for anything that is not legit and by the rules. We even told the hospital if they have the smallest concern of her and her meds to call the DEA and search her medicine history.

So I warn anyone visiting the area or thinking of moving here. I would not come here if it was the last place.

[tucler]

This is one of the finest areas for medical care, it ranks high in all lists of care. People retire here just for the medical care. The service if not an emergency can be daunting anywhere. Were you better served where you came from? You make a strong case for what many of us want: Single payer health care. My Son and Family in England pay on average $280.00 a month in extra taxes to have the freedom to never worry about health care costs again. I am sorry for you and all the rest of us for the antiquated health system that we cling to like a straw to a drowning man. Do not judge the area for the bad service you were given....blame the system.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by craig1970

Here is our story. We recently moved to Franklin and were looking forward to making this home. My fiancé through no fault of her own has had 4 back surgeries. Due to this doctors have put her on narcotic pain meds to help her. She is trying to get established so we can work on getting her off as much of her meds as possible. We have been here 6 weeks and have called and talked to no less than a dozen or more doctors. All are either we are full or we can't help you. After her meds ran out she talked to her mothers doctors in waynesville and he recommended going to Urgent Care which closes at 5:30pm. Not sure how a place called Urgent can close at that time. None the less we went there and they said they could not help. So our last resource was the hospital. After 3 hours to get to see someone the doctor said that the normally could not help but he would see what he could do. With the luck of the draw he was able to get us a prescription. The doctor had said that if he could not get the prescription approved that he figured he would see us back in a few days. We took the prescription to a local drug store to get filled. We knew it would have to be ordered. Before we picked up the prescription the pharmacist called the hospital and between the two my fiancé's 30 day medication was changed to 15 days. So now we are in big trouble and will probably have to drive many hours away to a place that has at least 1% of concern. Additionally we had a letter from her previous doctor backing up her condition and needs. No one here really cared in the least about my fiancé and her needs. We were hoping to make this home but we might as well have been shunned. My family owns property in the area and due to all of this we are considering selling. It saddens me how disrespectful the community is and how unhelpful they have been. We have not asked for anything that is not legit and by the rules. We even told the hospital if they have the smallest concern of her and her meds to call the DEA and search her medicine history.

So I warn anyone visiting the area or thinking of moving here. I would not come here if it was the last place.

craig, this problem is not unique to WNC. The same situation exists in Florida, for example. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about pain management problems, even for people who have been under medical supervision for a long time. It's not that medical personnel don't care, they do, but their hands are tied. There are also shortages of various medications. I think this might be a nationwide problem. A very close friend of ours has been through the mill on this issue and finally got it straightened out, only to have the issue crop up again when his medicare hmo went bust and he had to enroll in a new one. A real nightmare, but he did get help from his insurance agent and also persisting in contacting the insurance company, his primary care physician and his pain management specialist.

BTW, he's also been through that situation where 30 days gets cut back to 15 days. You and your finacee have my deepest sympathy.

[craig1970]

The part that just gets me angry when I am doing all I can to get my fiancé help is that when we call any doctor in the area to see about an appointment we are asked as to her needs. We say she has monthly medicine and the second we say that we are told that they cannot help. She has asthma and has a monthly requirement. To us it is beyond unacceptable is for any doctors office to turn someone away for those reasons. It is not a money thing from our end because she is on medicare and has a secondary. She also has a few of her more expensive medicines covered in full by the manufacture. The drug store we we were getting one of her pain meds from told us (3 days after dropping off the prescript) that they do not fill that medicine because they had someone once that filled the med but never picked it up. I told the pharmacist that I am sorry for that but why are we paying for someone else's mistake. I explained to her that the manufacture was paying for the medicine and gave her a copy of the card proving such. It was not till this point that they would even fill the medicine. We moved from Colorado and every pharmacy we went to and all the doctors offices we went to we had much better care and a higher level of concern and have done all they can to help. It I could afford it we would fly back each month for her doctor. But that just is not feasible. How sad is it that due to the lack of care we would consider that as an option if the finances would allow. For us medical care is very important and due to all of this we have decided to move.

[young92]

I hate that you are having this problem. What health insurance do you have? Any chance there is a PPO Network? When I worked for HDI, which was a PPO that covered hospitals (now called Crescent PPO who covers everyone), if someone called our office with a story like yours we would have done what we could to find the right people to help you. Land of Sky Regional Council comes to mind as one resource. North Carolina Dept of Health and Human Resources might be another. A long shot might be contacting MAHEC. They are a working student medical practice.
Is her doctor back home any help? Can they call an office that is local here and try to get an appointment for her that way? Sometimes direct referrals can work wonders.
I wish you luck

[Clyde Pharmer]

Western NC has a big narcotic abuse problem. A lot of primary care docs won't write narcotic scripts. With the pain clinic problems from Florida (armed gurards outside these clinics), the DEA has really been cracking down on the problem. Now they've come down with a mandate putting the onous on pharmacies and pharmacists to strictly limit how many narcotics get dispensed or risk getting shut down, regardless of whether the scripts are legit or not.

[RVT]

What He ^ said. When it comes down to your fiancé or their medical practice being shut down by the DEA, guess who is going to lose? Too many doctors that are writing prescriptions for valid pain have been arrested and charged, so they are not going to take any chances.

And be careful. Going to multiple doctors to attempt to get pain meds can be seen by the DEA as "Doctor shopping" and a red flag.

[QuilterChick]

Originally Posted by craig1970

Here is our story. We recently moved to Franklin and were looking forward to making this home. My fiancé through no fault of her own has had 4 back surgeries. Due to this doctors have put her on narcotic pain meds to help her. She is trying to get established so we can work on getting her off as much of her meds as possible. We have been here 6 weeks and have called and talked to no less than a dozen or more doctors. All are either we are full or we can't help you. After her meds ran out she talked to her mothers doctors in waynesville and he recommended going to Urgent Care which closes at 5:30pm. Not sure how a place called Urgent can close at that time. None the less we went there and they said they could not help. So our last resource was the hospital. After 3 hours to get to see someone the doctor said that the normally could not help but he would see what he could do. With the luck of the draw he was able to get us a prescription. The doctor had said that if he could not get the prescription approved that he figured he would see us back in a few days. We took the prescription to a local drug store to get filled. We knew it would have to be ordered. Before we picked up the prescription the pharmacist called the hospital and between the two my fiancé's 30 day medication was changed to 15 days. So now we are in big trouble and will probably have to drive many hours away to a place that has at least 1% of concern. Additionally we had a letter from her previous doctor backing up her condition and needs. No one here really cared in the least about my fiancé and her needs. We were hoping to make this home but we might as well have been shunned. My family owns property in the area and due to all of this we are considering selling. It saddens me how disrespectful the community is and how unhelpful they have been. We have not asked for anything that is not legit and by the rules. We even told the hospital if they have the smallest concern of her and her meds to call the DEA and search her medicine history.

So I warn anyone visiting the area or thinking of moving here. I would not come here if it was the last place.

Sorry to learn of your unfortunate problems. It is always advisable to line up medical care, advise your health insurance coverage/company that you are relocating etc. and find out which physicians are taking new patients and so forth prior to moving. Your fiancée's pharmacist/pharmacy in your previous state usually will transfer the prescriptions to your new pharmacy here. Walgreen's to CVS for example; it's all done over the computer. Your fiancée's physician could have also referred her to a physician in the Franklin area.

We hope it all works out, but advance planning when relocating with health problems that may require emergency issues and specialized prescriptions is a priority.

[Halo_in_reverse]

Originally Posted by RVT

What He ^ said. When it comes down to your fiancé or their medical practice being shut down by the DEA, guess who is going to lose? Too many doctors that are writing prescriptions for valid pain have been arrested and charged, so they are not going to take any chances.

And be careful. Going to multiple doctors to attempt to get pain meds can be seen by the DEA as "Doctor shopping" and a red flag.

When I was reading his story I immediately thought of "doctor shopping" and while her pain may be legit all the movement sounds and appears suspect. I'm not saying that's what's happening but to an outsider who does not know you that is the way it appears.

Now, if I suspect that .. then I'm sure that's what the medical community suspects. As for doctors not taking on patients because of medications that they're on .. that sounds completely incorrect. I'm in the medical field and have never heard of a physician who does not take on a patient because of their medication history/needs. I wonder if the OP is mistaken or misunderstood.

Most doctors don't take on new patients because their current load is already way too full. The medical community at large is not that nefarious.

[Shooting Stars]

Originally Posted by RVT

When it comes down to your fiancé or their medical practice being shut down by the DEA, guess who is going to lose? Too many doctors that are writing prescriptions for valid pain have been arrested and charged, so they are not going to take any chances.

Absolutely true.

It's your tax dollars hard at work to make your life more difficult.

We actually know of a mail order pharmacy that quit filling meds for pain because it got to be such a hassle with the DEA.

It's the patients who lose when this happens.